It's time to start playing with your trains 

Jimmy, don't stress over the fact that life gets in the way. It happens to all of us.

Agreed. The way I jumped from armchair to running trains was to join a MRR moudule club. The one I joined doesnt rquire you to own a module to participate. Secondly one of the club members had an old 4' x 10' layout he didnt want, so now I have something to run on when the module club is not meeting. I am building a module to run with the club and learning all the MRR skills. Trains dont belong in boxes, they need to run!

I don't drink coffee but I have a Pepsi. Love your channel! Terry

Spring has sprung in the northern hemisphere and we are all feeling more energetic. I have been working like crazy on my layout for sure. We also realise that this is a hobby for you and that you do hold down a full time job quite apart from your family commitments. We are just lucky to have any of your time at all. Thanks for everything that you do for us.

Hey Jimmy! I’m having coffee with one of those FANCY pod coffee machines.

Good show Jimmy. Thank you.

Don't worry about it! It is a hobby! I enjoy your videos, but family and life is more important. Thanks for the videos you do post.

PS Thanks for the certificate. Looks good. Pride of place.

Only so many hours in a day. You have been pretty good on publishing video fairly regularly, so don't sweat it. Cheers.

Love your channel Jimmy! Kato Unitrak and IKEA floating shelves above my workbench have been a lifesaver as far as keeping trains running. Life’s been busy lately and just being able to shuffle some cars around my impromptu switching layout is relaxing.

Well, since I'm commenting at night, its Lipton Decaf Ice Tea. I hear ya Jimmy! I've been messing with a bridge rebuild for 6 weeks. Havent been able to run trains because I needed the bridge. Not to mention, life does get in the way. Its a balancing act and I still dont have it right :)

So happy to see you back posting!

Can’t believe people complain about the ads when that’s something they should go to RU-vid about. It’s free content, I’d watch extra ads to be able to watch your videos keep up the awesome content

No worries family first always. Just HAPPY to see your videos of inspirations. Working on suitcase train layout and having fun making buildings for it. Glad you are feeling well and inspired. Keep up the good work. GOD BLESS 🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖🚂💖

Good morning, drinking Death Wish coffee, thank you for these great video's, hopefully soon I'll get off my armchair and take some pictures of my layout and send them in.

Jimmy: you got me started with a dresser top switching layout that morphed into 2 x 4 oval layout with switching sidings which morphed into tying the two boards together to get trains off the oval. Then I added two more "modules" 18" x 4', making a U shaped layout to add more "mainline" between my two end points. As I run diesels, I can run around trains on each end and operate a true point to point while still playing my car card dispatch system (shuffle the deck, deal out a train and go find the cars in the yard and then run to the town and switch out with cars coming back to "the big city". All flatland, no foam based stuff with complex grades and/or elevation changes, just repurposed 1/2" ply over some new 1x3 frames. The modules bolt together so the entire layout can be taken down and/or moved fairly easily. No complex leg/support system, the entire layout sits on 3 folding tables. I use DC twin cab wiring. Instead of flat brown, I like the green of the east coast so all my modules are painted a matching flat green and someday I will get around to adding rolling hills and even ballasting the track (ugh). LOL photo's if you want them are available. 😎 PS I am the "anti expert" model railroader. I use legacy equipment with rapido couplers and Kato unitrack. A lot of good rolling stock deals can be found on the internet but buyer beware regarding purchasing old locomotives with rapido couplers. Many ebay sellers say "like new" and I had one Bachman that went up in smoke 2 weeks after I got it. I discovered if one is going to use "legacy engines", one should not let them run for hours just to watch them run round and round without purpose. Conserve their remaining hours/life for operations that mean something.

One thing about Kato Unitrack, as I understand, is that it was designed with its home market of Japan in mind, where a permanent layout is often out of the question for most homes. Most Japanese Kato ads often show a temporary Unitrack layout set up on the floor.

For me the biggest issue is space, temporary or otherwise. My goal is a shelf layout in pieces that doesn't poke into the room as it were.

Getting ready to build my small switching layout once I have a section of a room cleaned out. Layout is already designed (though it may need tweaks) and I have an era set along with some traction for the layout along with building kits. This should be interesting as I am planning on having an Apple ][ Plus (Roman numeral II) dictating what cars go where like your receiving orders from a computer system of the time.

Hey Jimmy, love the video, and I'm glad I'm no longer an armchair modeler anymore. And you've been a major inspiration to me for getting back in the hobby. Keep on keepin on. Cheers.

Jimmy, Your channel has THE MOST high quality, consistent, and interesting content! If this has been you “slacking off”…. I can’t image what your standards must be or what is next! Thanks!

Arm chair collector man that hurts but admitting is the first step to recovery

Great video. Planning on doing an O gauge switching layout. However all the modules are laser cut from Baltic Birch which comes from Russia and has been banned. If you want modules you have to make them yourself.

I'm going to start playing with my model trains today.

Thanks for the video Jimmy, for us on the DCC-EX team we need some inspiration/motivation to get away from the project at times and actually run some trains!

Personally, my favorite coffee as of late is the Capital City Coffee Roasters hazelnut blend. Picked up a pound from Albany station on the way home from NYC (via Amtrak's Lake Shore Limited) and was delighted to know they had gotten the blend _just_ right. Way better than Starbucks, whose hazelnut is just _saturated_ with sugar.

Hit me right where I live! Drinking Community Morning Blend.

Sounds like this is going to be a big year for you considering what you have planned. This is going to be a big year for my channel too because later this year will be the 10 year anniversary of my channel.

Great video. I drink L'or Estremo Lungo mostly, brewed from cups in my nespresso machine. About the armchair modellers: haha, I regconize that, I publish my progress on some forums, and there's allways the odd armchair model railroader. The guys that allways says what he will build, but never will. It used to annoy me a little, but now I think that they have another hobby than modelrailroading. Their hobby consists of watching and enjoying modelrailroading of others, dreaming of their own possible modelrailroad and sometimes collect some stuff. And let's face it: there's nothing wrong with that. But I sympathize with you for trying to activate them. After all, please try it people! It's the greatest hobby in the world!

Love the vids your the one that got me into the hobby and I love trains thanks

I planned on operating an HO Scale layout on folding tables

Cold brew from Bean Roasters in Durham NC

Great video as always Jimmy 😀

Nice to see you back again. Drinking some Wawa Columbian with a little French vanilla creamer.

Jimmy: I really enjoy your channel and content and love your enthusiasm and your appreciation for model trains and coffee. My layout started on my drafting table at work during Covid and transpired to a 4x8 HO Layout (I have my own one person office). Do you have the option for people to support you thru PayPal or Venmo vs. Patreon. Happy Rails.

Hi Jimmy, love the channel and it has been so important to me in getting back into the hobby. I'm drinking Marlowe's coffee which is a local brand here in Youngstown. Keep up the good work and thanks again!

I'm a armchair model railway guy. XD Have all the trains to make a 00 gauge London Underground layout and would like to make at least a 4x8 board. But I don't even have space for modules or a folding table. Some day...

We need more tshirts

Super guilty of being "armchair railroader" due to living in 2 bedroom apartment. I make up for it by posting RU-vid videos and working on a scene for the National Model Railroader Build off. And I'm drinking decaf green tea :)

Big O' Can of Kroger. Double size mug, so 4 sugar and a splash of milk.

👍👍👍

i wish i could play with my trains, i dont have a table yet :(

Cafe Bustelo